Secretary Ministry of Religion Dr. Ataur Rehman held a press conference on Monday and gave updates and news related to the upcoming Hajj program. He revealed some issues, clarified misunderstandings and gave important details about this year’s Hajj.
He announced that Pak Haji’s official mobile application should be used by every pilgrim and said that all pilgrims will be contacted and their applications will be registered through the application. He also said that pilgrims from Pakistan will be given free SIM cards where they can make calls using mobile data.
Dr Rehman dismissed the notion that the number of pilgrims under the government scheme was insufficient and said 69,000 Pakistani pilgrims would perform Haj under the official scheme and details of the private scheme would be revealed soon. He said, the ministry is preparing for Hajj this year.
Acknowledging concerns about rising costs associated with Hajj, Dr. Rehman said inflation has led to an increase in the cost of everything. In addition, he said, compared to last year, $ 100,000 less received this year. He also announced some changes for this year’s Hajj, including a shorter period of 20-25 days.
“The cost of an air ticket for a short Hajj will be between $55,000 and $60,000,” said Dr Rehman. He also said that Pakistani pilgrims would be allowed to carry two bags of the same color.
He also informed that under 45 officers in the age group of 7-18 years will serve as godmen during the Hajj and the assistants will be supervised through the Hajj program. He also said that he had saved $150 million by buying drugs and vaccines on time.
The ministry has also implemented the use of QR codes to protect the belongings of pilgrims. Besides that, Dr. Rehman said that the road to Makkah has been successfully implemented in Islamabad and Karachi which will speed up the immigration procedure for pilgrims in Pakistan. Saudi officials will handle immigration at Islamabad and Karachi airports and provide a comfortable experience for pilgrims.
‘Pak Hajj’ app use declared mandatory for all pilgrims
